Various estimates put the number of people affected by food allergies and intolerances in Ireland in the tens of
thousands. However, this is a complex area where actual data on the overall number of people affected, as well as
the prevalence of the various types of food allergies and intolerances are not available. Figures estimated for
Ireland are largely extrapolated from data available in other countries such as the UK. In order to get a general
indication of the food allergies and intolerances most prevalent in Ireland, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland
(FSAI) set up a web-based questionnaire asking five questions. Of the 509 people who responded over a six
month time period in early 2010, the vast majority (85%) claimed to have been medically rather than selfdiagnosed,
with a ratio of two to one females to males responding. Of the 14 food allergens covered by EU food
labelling legislation, cereals containing gluten and peanuts were the most commonly reported in this survey, while
none of the respondents were allergic to lupin.
In a parallel survey, the FSAI examined various food products to determine the level of compliance and accuracy
of allergen labelling. A total of 267 tests were carried out on 229 food samples for the presence of peanut, egg or
soya ingredients alone or in combination. Products sampled had either no indication of the presence of these
ingredients or carried precautionary allergen labels relating to the possible presence of one or more of the
specified ingredients such as “May contain…” or “Produced in a premises that uses….”. The results identified a
total of 11 samples out of 106 (11%) analysed which were found to contain one or more of the specified allergenic
ingredients even though there was no such indication on the labelling. Only seven out of the 108 (6.5%) products
with precautionary allergen labels actually contained any level of the allergenic ingredient mentioned on that label.
This means that the vast majority of those samples (93.5%) may have been safe for consumption by people
allergic to those ingredients.

Various estimates put the number of people affected by food allergies and intolerances in Ireland in the tens of
thousands. However, this is a complex area where actual data on the overall number of people affected, as well as
the prevalence of the various types of food allergies and intolerances are not available. Figures estimated for
Ireland are largely extrapolated from data available in other countries such as the UK. In order to get a general
indication of the food allergies and intolerances most prevalent in Ireland, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland
(FSAI) set up a web-based questionnaire asking five questions. Of the 509 people who responded over a six
month time period in early 2010, the vast majority (85%) claimed to have been medically rather than selfdiagnosed,
with a ratio of two to one females to males responding. Of the 14 food allergens covered by EU food
labelling legislation, cereals containing gluten and peanuts were the most commonly reported in this survey, while
none of the respondents were allergic to lupin.
In a parallel survey, the FSAI examined various food products to determine the level of compliance and accuracy
of allergen labelling. A total of 267 tests were carried out on 229 food samples for the presence of peanut, egg or
soya ingredients alone or in combination. Products sampled had either no indication of the presence of these
ingredients or carried precautionary allergen labels relating to the possible presence of one or more of the
specified ingredients such as “May contain…” or “Produced in a premises that uses….”. The results identified a
total of 11 samples out of 106 (11%) analysed which were found to contain one or more of the specified allergenic
ingredients even though there was no such indication on the labelling. Only seven out of the 108 (6.5%) products
with precautionary allergen labels actually contained any level of the allergenic ingredient mentioned on that label.
This means that the vast majority of those samples (93.5%) may have been safe for consumption by people
allergic to those ingredients.